Southwestern Green Chili with Chicken

• From: The Daily Soup Cookbook

Ingredients

• 4 Tbs peanut oil

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut up

• 8 cups mineral or filtered water

• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

• 2 poblano chile peppers, seeded and chopped

• 2 drained pickled jalapeños, diced

• 2 Tbs chili powder

• 2 tsp ground cumin seeds

• 2 tsp ground coriander seeds

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• 2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, diced

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

• 2 cups frozen lima beans, thawed

• 1 tsp minced fresh garlic

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

A fusion of Indian and Mexican cuisines, this soup is called "green" not because it looks green in color, but because of the abundance of green pepper varieties.

Directions

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon, reserve the poaching liquid, and when cool enough to handle remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Strain the poaching liquid to remove solids, reserving 6 cups, and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot and add the onion, celery, bell peppers, poblano chile peppers, and jalapeños. Sweat for 4 minutes, until tender.
• Add the chili powder, cumin, coriander, bay leaves, oregano, and salt and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes, until the spices are fragrant.
• Return the chicken to the pot and add the reserved poaching liquid and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add the quinoa and simmer for 10 minutes, until tender.
• Stir in the lima beans and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic.
• To serve, remove the bay leaves, ladle the chili into bowls, and top with the chopped cilantro.